The aftermath of Concord’s abrupt discontinuation continues to unfold, following Sony’s decision to take the game offline earlier in the month. The game’s director has now reportedly chosen to step down. According to Kotaku, Ryan Ellis, the game director at Firewalk Studios, informed staff that he will be relinquishing his position. Ellis, who co-founded Firewalk and previously served as the creative director of Destiny 2, will remain with the studio in a support capacity.
In the meantime, employees at Firewalk are awaiting an update on Sony’s plans for the underperforming game. Sony removed Concord from circulation just two weeks post-release, on September 6, and refunded customers who purchased the game on PlayStation 5 or PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. In a statement, Sony indicated that the removal was to “explore options, including those that will better reach our players.” Consequently, Kotaku reports that Firewalk’s staff are concerned about their job security following Concord’s failure in the market.
Concord’s extremely poor sales figures have rendered it one of the most significant commercial failures in the gaming industry. Analysts estimate that only 25,000 copies were sold on Steam and for PS5 within the first six days of its release.